PEI: The Lake of Shining Waters

 I know all of you Anne fans out there are familiar with the Lake of Shining Waters.  It plays a somewhat pivotal role in the life of Anne.   Now it is an amusement park complete with rides and water slides.  How did I ever manage to go to a place like that when an iconic name has been usurped for commerce??  Well, I did manage to go and I had a rather amusing time during my visit.

We didn't arrive until after 10:30, on the second hottest day of our time in PEI.  It is an ungodly hour to arrive because one is forced to wait in lines.  I was, however, pleasantly surprised that the cost was only $38/person (which included the horrific HST) and I know it was time for a "kids day".  One remarkable thing that happened is we found one of the last shady spots available in the entire pool/slide area and I grabbed a chaise lounge, moved it to the shade,  and sat like a slovenly queen for the remainder of the day.  

Did I see much of my grandchildren?  Not at all!  They had to line up (in brilliant, full-on sun) to take the water slides and their parents aided and abetted this situation by standing in lines to obtain "tires" for their slides.  I pretty much had a few hours to myself for my own amusement and people watching was terrific!  I also had my treasured copy of Anne of Windy Poplars if I ran out of people to watch.  

I hadn't been on a roller coaster for over 50 years and I did go over and do the ride with my grandchildren.  It was a rather short ride (probably about a minute) and 

still quite a thrill.  It was lovely to have Callie beside me.  The "boys" of course were at the front of the coaster.  Following that, I had my first "beaver tail" (or 1/4 of it) and that was a tasty treat.  I watched  my granddaughter Callie taste her first bite of poutine and the day flew by.  I even arranged to meet my college friend Lenore,  and her husband Roger,  at 4 pm inside the park - they'd just arrived with their 4 grandchildren.  We had an hour to share!  Texting really helps when trying to locate someone at Shining Waters.  

The rides at the park were fairly varied - there were lots I'd never seen before, but then I'm still living in the previous century.  And the "space" at Shining Waters (away from the water slides and the lineups!) was actually quite "green" and calm.  I rather like what they've done with it.  And if a person stays out of the "frey" among the slides and tires it has a rather pleasant environment.  I don't know what L.M. Montgomery would think, but she did have a good understanding of human nature and the natural world.  She might have actually liked it.  

And a good time to arrive is late in the day (it closes at 6 pm), particularly on the hottest day of the summer.  My friend arrived at the perfect time - the lines were much shorter and it was their warm up act for a New Glasgow lobster supper!